


Drunk Calling at 2 AM

by slashhearts



Series: The Things I Want To Tell You —届ける、届けたい。— [4]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternative Universe - Idols, M/M, Slow Build, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-08-24
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:14:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26080225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slashhearts/pseuds/slashhearts
Summary: Daisuke gets a call in the middle of the night.
Relationships: Daisuke Tadano/Yuuma Shishino
Series: The Things I Want To Tell You —届ける、届けたい。— [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1245020





	Drunk Calling at 2 AM

**Author's Note:**

> ((still trying to figure out where this part goes within the rest of the series chronologically, bear with me))

"Shishino-san? It's…” Daisuke pulled his phone away from his ear to check the time, the screen shining in his face. “Augh, it’s two in the morning? What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

"What, no. I just... wanted to talk?"

There was a slight tremor and a swaying cadence in Yuuma's deep voice. Daisuke sat up in bed and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. His eyes struggled to focus in the darkness. He cleared his throat.

"Talk? Uh, sure?" Daisuke held the phone against his shoulder as he climbed out of bed. He stepped over to the other side of the room and settled himself in his chair. He looked out the window into the street below, moonbeams shining across his desk. It wasn’t like Yuuma to even call in the first place. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Uh, tha-that's a good question, actually," Yuuma sounded unsure of himself. It threw Daisuke for a loop. Having worked with each other for a few months now, he still couldn't shake that aloof first impression of his partner. Yuuma’s voice snapped him back to the moment, "Well, for starters. H-How are you?" 

"Me? I'm good," Daisuke raised an eyebrow.  _ He’s calling to make small talk? _ "And you?"

"I'm… good too. Just taking a break. Been online for... four hours now?” Yuuma rambled. “Been on a bit of a losing streak tonight, actually." 

"Shishino-san," Daisuke's forehead creased in... concern? frustration? annoyance? "I know we have the day off tomorrow, but this is too much. You really need to start taking care of your body."

"Yes, day off tomorrow. Right, I knew that. That’s why I’m up this late. Honestly, I haven’t done it in a while, so I figured it would’ve been fine tonight," Yuuma explained. He let out a brief sigh. "You talk to me like I'm an old man."

"I'm not, I'm just making sure—"

"Oh, god. Hrk…”

“Shishino-san?! Are you okay?” Daisuke rose to his feet. “Hang one, I’ll—”

“Man, I'm gonna have the shittiest hangover tomorrow..." Yuuma hiccuped.

“What?!” Daisuke couldn’t believe it. "Are you drunk?" 

"Maybe, just... a little." 

Daisuke leaned back in his chair and sighed. Annoyance, he decided. A few seconds passed.

"Daisuke?"

"Yeah. Yes, I'm here."

"You're mad at me."

"...Well, to be honest. I'm not happy with you," Daisuke confessed. He sat back down and scratched at the surface of his desk, not completely ignorant to the fact that Yuuma just name-dropped him.  _ If this was any other night, I’m sure I’d be over the moon by now... _

"Shit, I'm so sorry," Yuuma stammered. "I-I'm gonna hang up now. Sorry I woke you."

"Shishino-san, wait," Daisuke propped his head up with his elbow. "It's okay. It's fine." 

"But—"

"You said you've been losing a lot of matches tonight," Daisuke continued. "That's not like you."

"Yeah…” 

“Shishino-san,” Daisuke spoke up again. “If you don’t stop trailing off, I’m going back to bed.”  _ What am I saying, there’s no way I’d hang up on him. Especially, not like this. _

“Sorry, sorry. It's just… really hard to stay focused when you're smashed, Daisuke," Yuuma tried to defend himself, rather flimsily. "You shouldn't drink, Daisuke. Stay away from it." 

"Don't worry about it, don't really have the stomach for it anyway," Daisuke waved him off.  _ He’s said my name two more times now, he doesn’t even realize it, what is happening.  _ "So why were you drinking tonight, Shishino-san?" 

"...Just felt like it," Yuuma muttered.

"Really now," Daisuke shot back at him. “Just like how you felt like calling me up.”

“I did…” Yuuma insisted. He took a pause. “…But what if I didn't?”

“You mean like, there was more to why you were drinking tonight?” Daisuke clarified. He kept his expectations low.  _ There’s no way he called me up just for me. _

“Yeah.”

“Yuuma…”

Daisuke winced at using his partner’s name. He expected some sort of pushback but there only the slight hum of the phone buzz. He pushed on. 

“You can talk to me.”

“Okay, right,” Yuuma sniffed. “So the truth. The truth is, well… the truth is I found out that some of my old teammates joined a new team.”

“Oh.”

“And they’re actually doing really good, like they’re killing it out there.”

“That's good… right?”

“That's what I thought too, at first. I mean, I had heard about it already, but I was curious so I tuned into one of their matches tonight,” Yuuma went on, his voice rising with a drunken energy. “They were just… awesome. Like, dominating out there.”

Yuuma brought his voice to a low hush of praise and reverence. Daisuke felt a pang in the pit of his stomach.

“I was happy for them. But then I couldn't help but start thinking some pretty shitty things like. They were achieving my old dream, that that was supposed to be us together up there. Like, why weren't we this good when we back then? Y’know? What’s different?”

Daisuke held his breath. He heard the strained cracking in Yuuma’s voice so clear despite the phone’s usual muffleness. He wanted nothing more to reach out and hold him by the cheek, rest his hand on his neck, tell him it would be okay. He opened his mouth to respond, but Yuuma beat him to it.”

“And then I realize like the reason why we only got as far as we did was because I held us back or something. They’re seeing the true potential now because I’m not there with them. And that’s that.”

“I'm sure that's not true,” Daisuke offered. “You said so yourself, you guys were good then too.”

“What if I just deluded myself and thought we were better than we were? Do you think if I hadn’t joined them, they’d be better off from the start?” Yuuma was spiraling now. “What if it was true?”

“You don't know that—”

“I know more about it than you,” Yuuma snapped. His voice sharpened with a bitter twist and the pang in his gut snapped like a broken knife. The silent static of the call between them shifted. An electric tension rolled across Daisuke's skin as he waited for Yuuma’s next line, trying to keep his panting quiet. 

“Damn it, shit, I’m sorry, Tadano.”

“It's alr—”

“It's not though. Don't say it is.”

“Stop interrupting me,” Daisuke snapped back.  _ Okay, that’s it. Drunk Yuuma is not fun.  _ He took a second before his next question. 

“It isn't okay though. That was a bad thing I did just now, you didn't deserve it. That paranoia’s starting to bleed into my present situation, like I’m so scared shitless that I'm somehow messing us up. I don't know what I'm doing.”

“You're not. You're doing just fine. I might be our leader, but I'm honestly so relieved to know I have someone I can depend on,” Daisuke said, keeping his tone short. The lack of sleep might have betrayed his displeasure, but damn if he didn’t mean every word of it. “And you’re right. I didn’t deserve that earlier bit, but you seem to be pretty upset right now so I’ll let this one slide. Just this once though.”

“Thanks, Daisuke,” Yuuma chuckled. Daisuke heard a slight change in his voice. Was he… stretching?  _ He must be getting pretty sleepy.  _ He stifled a yawn himself. 

A thought had occurred to him. He spoke up again next. 

“Did you want to go back? To esports, I mean.”

“If you asked me at any other time, I’d say no but… I’d be lying to say that I hadn’t thought about it,” Yuuma said. “I miss certain parts of it, sure, but doing this Idol stuff, this is my life now, my job now. I couldn’t do that to you and leave you hanging. We’re in this together.”

“Okay,” Daisuke nodded, trying to follow along. “But wouldn’t you rather be in competitions and stuff? Why not focus on something that’ll actually make you happy?”

“Daisuke, you’re not understanding,” Daisuke could just feel Yuuma pointing at him through the phone. “I like where I am now. I’d rather be doing this with you. That’s what makes me happy.”

“Oh, okay,” Daisuke hesitated as he processed. “Okay, good.” 

_ Did he just say he was happy… being with me? Oh man, don’t read too much into it… But still, if he did mean that… Is it selfish of me to take pride in that? _ he asked himself.  _ Oh man, this is so worth it.  _

“Thanks, Shishino-san.”

“I should be the one thanking you, Daisuke,” Yuuma sighed in relief. “What did I do to deserve you?”

“You kinda didn't,” Daisuke chuckled. “We just happened to get paired together.”

“Yeah, true,” Yuuma agreed. “You have to admit though, I did eventually earn your trust. I made sure to try hard so you’d  _ want _ to work with me. Y’know, instead of  _ having _ to work with me.”

“It wasn’t ‘eventually.’ You honestly didn't have to do much,” Daisuke retorted. “Don't take me for someone who trusts just about anyone. I just know these things.”

“Well, what was it then?” Yuuma raised an eyebrow. 

“I noticed how hard you worked during those training lessons, when we were still new and didn’t know each other yet,” Daisuke recalled. “For like the most lighthearted songs or choreo, you took it so seriously. I figured you were a serious person. Knowing that going in, I felt like I was in good hands.”

“So you noticed me from all the way back then, did you? Could it be, you like me?” Yuuma guessed playfully. Daisuke froze in his tracks. 

“W-What? Me? Like you? No, no way. I mean, that’s not because I don’t like you, because I do! Like, I like you—wait, I mean like I don’t like-like you, I just—”

“Pffft, relax!! I’m messing with you!” Yuuma laughed. “At least you sound like you’re not mad at me anymore.” 

“I’m not mad!”

“Jeez, you’re still so easy to get flustered. It honestly never gets old,” Yuuma pushed past it. Daisuke could hear it come straight from his stomach, a hearty laugh. And like that any residual bitterness had dissolved into Yuuma’s voice. It was like a tight hug. He felt warm, his chest felt tight and he couldn’t breathe, but all in the best way possible.

“S-Shut up!!” Daisuke tried to calm the pounding in his chest.  _ God, this isn’t fair at all! _ he thought.  _ Just once I’d like him to lose his cool like this.  _

“Sorry,” Yuuma shrugged. “You're just so cute sometimes.”

His last words echoed in Daisuke’s ears.  _ He thinks I’m… cute?!  _

To think he would have heard him say that in his lifetime… Daisuke put the phone down and got on the floor. He couldn't contain himself, he had practically won the lottery at this point. He started rolling around back and forth out of excitement when Yuuma called out again. 

“Tadano, you still there?”

“I’m here!” Daisuke rushed back to his phone, a little out of breath. “I'm here. Sorry, dropped my phone there for a sec.”

“Uh-huh,” Yuuma was unconvinced, but his tone gave way to his continued amusement. 

“Everyone noticed you, y’know. You were just that good,” Daisuke added, a little late. “People kept talking about how awesome it would be if they were in a unit with you.”

“Eh, I probably wouldn’t have stayed if I got paired up with anyone else,” Yuuma said. 

“Was there anyone you wanted to have paired up with?” Daisuke asked. “I mean, you probably didn’t notice me, I was pretty average, just like now. I didn’t think you knew who I was until that first meeting with Producer and the president.”

“Nah, I knew of you,” It was Yuuma’s turn to think back. “I knew you as the really nice guy who always said hi. I remember thinking that I wouldn’t mind being grouped up with him.”

“Oh,” Daisuke repeated again.  _ So he’s noticed me too? Since then? _

“And don’t sell yourself short,” Yuuma was starting to sound clearer now, but he still kept his unrestrained tirade going. “You might not see it, but you’ve grown. You’re so much better now than you were when we first started. Trust me.”

“We should probably go to bed soon,” Daisuke changed the subject. This was too much to take in all at once. He looked at the clock on his desk, quarter till three. 

“Video chat me.”

“What? What for?” Daisuke’s nervousness returned, his face flushing across his cheeks. 

“I want to say goodnight,” Yuuma said. Daisuke could hear some rustling in the background. “Besides, don’t you want to make sure I actually go to bed and not just sleep at my desk?”

“T-That’s a good point,” Daisuke cleared his throat. “But the next time you end up with an imprint of your keyboard on your face again, you could just take the day off to stay in.”

“That happened  _ one _ time,” Yuuma rolled his eyes. “Here, one sec.”

A ping went off in Daisuke’s ear. He held the phone away from him to find the video chat notification. Each passing ring heightened his nervousness. He accepted the call and squinted as his screen lit up with Yuuma’s face. As his eyes adjusted, he noticed how bloodshot his eyes were. 

“Okay, here’s me going to bed,” Yuuma yawned. Daisuke tried to make out any details of his apartment, but the camera was focused lower, below his neck. As loose as his shirt was, they still hugged his chest rather snug, the material flowing below that. Daisuke hoped the darkness on his end was enough to hide his reddening face. Yuuma’ voice brought him back. “Are you in bed?”

“I was,” Daisuke cleared his throat, trying to keep his voice even. “Sat at my desk to talk to you though.”

“That’s weird,” Yuuma turned off the lights in his living room and made his way into his bedroom. “Go back to bed.”

“Okay, okay,” Daisuke complied without complaint and climbed back under his covers. The lack of sleep was getting to him. He flipped the switch on his reading light and held his phone close. Yuuma had put his phone down somewhere, his camera pointed towards his bed. Daisuke’s heart skipped a beat, mind racing. This sort of setting looked familiar, like a camera angle off several videos he had perused through on a few late nights alone before… 

“Hold on, just gotta change,” Yuuma’s voice came through a little distant off-screen. 

“Sure...” Daisuke muttered. He spaced out, his imagination was starting to wander. This was the first time Daisuke had ever seen Yuuma’s bedroom, but he couldn’t help but think about the first time he would visit in person, to look around and inspect the place where his partner rests at night. He’d sit on the bed and take it all in and he’d reach out to Yuuma and grab him by his hand to lead him over so that Yuuma would kneel up against the side of his bed. He’d look down at him and trace his jaw with the back of his finger. With Daisuke pinned between Yuuma’s legs like that, he’d lay his hand gently on his chest to push him away, but instead he’d lean up to close the gap between their lips and—

“What was that?”

“Huh? Oh, n-nothing! I just said su—hhhhhh, Shishino-san!”

Yuuma reappeared, half-dressed with a loose tank top draped around his neck and not yet all the way on his torso. He had done a sort of weird side-step to get back in frame as he adjusted the waistband of his boxers. Daisuke eyed the taught curves of his muscles, noticing a distinct lean quality in his frame. He sported a solid six pack, his muscular torso leading down to his hips dipped a V into his underwear, a faint trail of dark hair situated below his navel and past his waistband. His thighs strained against the fabric as if they were about ready to tear his boxers apart.

It was better than anything Daisuke’s imagination could ever come up with.

“What?” 

“P-P-Put some clothes on, for crying out loud!” Daisuke whisper-shouted, trying not to wake up the rest of his family. His heart just about stopped as he decided whether or not he should take a screenshot. “Yuuma, what the hell?!?”

“This is what I go to sleep in,” Yuuma shrugged. He leaned into the camera and smirked. “Why? You don’t like what you see? You can screenshot if you want, I’ll wait.”

Yuuma moved back a bit to fit most of his body in frame, his crotch bouncing with each step. He gestured to himself. 

“I—You—Just uh, hhhhhh,” Daisuke stammered. The fact that Yuuma was not only taunting him, but apparently reading his mind was getting to be too much. He took care to adjust the stiffness in his briefs and allowed himself one screenshot without being too obvious.  _ Actually, you know what. He said I could.  _ He took a few more screenshots.

“I hear the shutter sound going off,” Yuuma teased more. 

“No, you don’t,” Daisuke said.  _ Click. _

“Want to see me in any fun positions? I could flex for you, maybe even show off my ass…” 

“Yuuma, c’mon, just go to bed,” Daisuke was beet red now. It was too much to handle in one night. He’ll have to check the pictures later when he wasn’t so overwhelmed. 

“Alright, alright,” Yuuma chuckled with a wave of his hand. 

“I swear, I almost prefer you sober,” Daisuke sighed. 

“No, you don’t,” Yuuma repeated back to him. He reached for his phone and dimmed the light. “Won’t turn it off all the way. Figured you’d want to watch me sleep.”

“I do not!” Daisuke lied. 

“Yeah, you do,” Yuuma teased as he climbed into bed. It looked like he had leaned his phone up against a couple of extra pillows. “I wanna watch you fall asleep anyway.”

“Jeez, you’ve had a lot to drink, haven’t you,” Daisuke grumbled. He followed suit and secured his phone against the nightstand’s lamp. He settled in again, taking care not to shake the table and knock the phone over. “There. So you can watch me fall asleep too. Weirdo. Are you even going to remember any of this?”

“Who knows? Does it matter? I’m not even sure what I’m saying myself,” Yuuma stared at him, not at the screen but at the camera itself, piercing through Daisuke from miles away. Even in the dim light, his silver eyes shone through the screen and rattled Daisuke to his core. A smile curled on Yuuma’s lips. “What I will remember though, is you calling me by my name.”

“I did do that, didn’t I?” Daisuke felt a little proud of himself. The warmth of being back under his covers had started to draw his eyelids closed.

“You should do that more often,” Yuuma turned over. He laid on his back as Daisuke traced the edge of his profile against the dark. “My name sounds good when you say it.”

“Yeah, yeah…” 

Quiet breaths hung between them, suspended between screens. Yuuma shuffled, trying to get comfortable. He turned on his side towards his phone. 

“Hey, Daisuke?”

“Yeah, Yuuma?”

“What if…” Yuuma trailed off. His eyelids started to droop as well, growing heavier by the second. “What if we did end up together? I think that’d be nice, wouldn’t you?”

“Don’t get my hopes up, Shishino,” Daisuke’s voice fell into a mumble. “It’s cruel to play me like that.” 

“I’m not though,” Yuuma mumbled back.

“You don’t even know what you’re saying right now,” Daisuke’s voice was just a whisper.

“I might not know what I’m saying,” Yuuma was on the verge of sleep. “But I know how I feel. Maybe you can remember for us in the morning.”

“Hmm…” Daisuke was barely hanging onto consciousness now. He wasn’t sure if he heard the last part right, but he couldn’t keep himself up to ask again.

“I think… it’d be nice…”

“...”


End file.
